Paul M. Rosner

rosner@sohalang.com

206.654.6601

Paul is a managing shareholder with Soha & Lang.  Paul has worked in the property and casualty field since 1989.  He is a former casualty adjuster, large loss property adjuster, claims supervisor, and claims manager.  As an attorney, he focuses his practice on property and casualty insurance coverage and bad faith litigation.  He has also served as an expert witness on insurance bad faith and claims handling.

Paul is a frequent author and lecturer on insurance coverage and bad faith issues. He is a regular contributor to the Around the Nation column of Claims Management Magazine.  His lectures include presentations to attorneys and insurance professionals.

When not practicing law Paul enjoys spending time with his family, running, hiking, camping, and mountain biking.

ADMISSIONS

Paul is admitted in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

EDUCATION

• Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, California, Juris Doctor, summa cum laude,
• University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, BA

Honors: Provost Honors List, Academic Achievement Award

HONORS AND INVOLVEMENT

• Governor of Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters Interest Groups
• Past President of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society
• Former Chair CPCU Society Coverage, Litigator, Educators, and Witnesses (CLEW) Committee
• Member and Past President of Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) Seattle Chapter, Former Washington State Co-Chair of CLM
• Selected to “Washington Super Lawyers” 2020 and “Rising Star,” 2010, 2012 by Thomson Reuters.
• Ralph Boden Award for Excellence for Outstanding Service to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of CPCU, 2014 -2015
• Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, California

Articles Editor, Southwestern University Law Review

Recipient, 13 CALI “Excellence for the Future” awards

Recipient, Paul Wildman Scholarship

• University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California

Honors: Provost Honors List, Academic Achievement Award

SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS

• Alan E. Rainwater et al. v. Marlene Perdue et al., Pierce County Superior Court No.: 18-2-12960-1 (2022). On behalf of Ohio Security Insurance Company successfully challenged $12 million stipulated settlement in reasonableness proceedings resulting in ruling that reasonable settlement value was between “zero and a nominal nuisance value.”
• Cortes v. Davis, Benton County Superior Court, Cause no. 16-2-00861-2 (2021). $3.7 million stipulated settlement of sexual abuse claims against school teacher found unreasonable and reduced to $450,000 after two day reasonableness hearing.
• Keodalah v. Allstate Insurance Co., 194 Wn.2d 339, 449 P.3d 1040 (2019). Co-author of amicus brief on behalf of WDTL to Washington Supreme Court, which ruled that employee adjusters of insurance companies are not subject to personal liability for insurance bad faith.
• Philadelphia Indem. Ins. Co. v. Olympia Early Learning Ctr., 980 F. Supp. 2d 1266 (W.D. Wash. 2013). Summary judgment ruling in favor of insurance company client in dispute regarding limits of multiple insurance policies with sexual abuse coverage limiting liability to a single policy limit based on anti-stacking provisions.
• Aspen Grove Owners Association v. Park Promenade Apartments, LLC, 842 F. Supp. 2d 1298 (W.D. Wash. 2012). Successfully represented intervening insurance company in reasonableness proceedings where court found $5.75 million stipulated covenant judgment was unreasonable, found that the reasonable settlement amount was about $1.9 million, and held that the value of the only potentially covered claim was $300,000.
• St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Highline Sch. Dist. No. 401, C17-1917 TSZ, 2020 WL 645129 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 11, 2020) Successfully represented public school risk pool in resolving dispute with public school district and against contribution claims by previous insurers related to underlying sexual abuse lawsuit. 

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

• “Stipulated Settlements & Reasonableness Hearings” presented at Washington Defense Trial Lawyers 2022 Annual Insurance Law Update, April 29, 2022
• “Navigating the ISO Commercial General Liability Policy” webinar co-presenter for the CPCU Society, May 14, 2020
• “Virtual Meetings” webinar co-presenter for the CPCU Society, April 20, 2020
• “Coronavirus: Insurance Implications” webinar co-presenter for The Insurance Library Association of Boston, March 25, 2020
• “Court Holds That An Insurance Adjuster Can Be Liable For Bad Faith” Author (Coverage Opinions Newsletter, January 2019)
• “Ethics, Communication, and Control in the Tripartite Relationship” Co-Author (CPCU Insights Magazine May 2018)
• “Is Washington Really As Bad For Insurers As Everyone Says?” Co-Author (My Hometown Column, Coverage Opinions Newsletter, May 2017)
• Washington Insurance Litigation Practice Guide (Lexis-Nexis), Co-Author, Chapter 8, “Insurance-Specific Issues in Coverage and Bad-Faith Litigation” (2014-2015 Edition)
• Insurance Bad Faith (DRI), Co-Author Oregon and Washington sections (2010 and 2015 Editions)
• “Washington Supreme Court’s Vision of First Party Property Coverage” Co-Author (Defense News –Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, Winter, 2013)
• Chapter 3, “Exclusions to Liability Coverage,” Washington Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Deskbook (Washington State Bar Association), Chapter Co-author (Second Edition Supplement, 2009)
• “Criminal Acts Exclusion Precludes Coverage After Guilty Plea” (Seattle Claims Adjusters Association Newsletter, January 2009)
• “Washington Supreme Court Addresses the Selective Tender and Late Tender Rules” (Seattle Claims Adjusters Association Newsletter, March 2009)
• “Washington Courts Hold the Line on Retroactive Application of the Insurance Fair Conduct Act” (Defense News –Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, Spring, 2008)
• “Keodalah Deconstructed” panelist at Washington Defense Trial Lawyers 2020 Annual Insurance Law Update, February 28, 2020
• “Keodalah v Allstate: Insurance Professionals Personal Liability for Bad Faith” presented at Oregon CPCU Chapter Meeting, June 5, 2019
• “Keodalah v. Allstate:  Implications for Insurance Attorneys” co-presenter at Washington Defense Trial Lawyers 2019 Annual Insurance Law Update, April 26, 2019
• “Bad Faith in the Pacific Northwest” co-presenter at Pacific Northwest CPCU Chapter’s Spring Seminar, April 24, 2019
• “The Keodalah Blues” co-presenter at the Puget Sound Adjusters Association’s Spring Symposium, March 15, 2019
• “Keodalah v. Allstate: Insurance Professionals Beware” co-presenter at Pacific Northwest CPCU Chapter Meeting, February 7, 2019
• Claims Handling Principles and Practices course (AIC 30) (The Institutes), Video content contributed to the 2019 on-line version
• “Adjusters Beware: You Could Be Personally Liable for Bad Faith,” webinar co-presenter for the CPCU Society, November 20, 2018
• “Calamity Vacation 3,” panelist at the CPCU Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, October 2018
• “Bad Faith Nightmares: Recent Trends and Themes” co-presenter at the CPCU Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, October 2018
• “Evaluating Coverage Concerns In Sexual Misconduct Claims,” panelist at the 2018 CLM Mid-West Conference, June 14, 2018
• “Ethics & Autonomous Vehicles” presented to Pacific Northwest Chapter of the CPCU Society, May 2, 2018. Ethics Around Autonomous Vehicles
• “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” panelist at the Puget Sound Adjusters Association’s Spring Symposium, April 6, 2018
• “Diversity in the Insurance Industry” presented to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the CPCU Society, November 2, 2017
• “Bad Faith Nightmares: Recent Trends and Themes” presented to the Spokane CPCU Chapter of the CPCU Society, June 8, 2017
• “Insurance Ethics In The Sharing Economy” presented to Pacific Northwest Chapter of the CPCU Society, April 26, 2017
• “Bad Faith Nightmares: Recent Trends and Themes” webinar presented to The Institutes CPCU Society, January 2017
• “CPCU Calamity Vacation in Hawaii” presented at the CPCU Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, September 2016
• “Mock Mediation of a Cyber Liability Dispute” presented to Pacific Northwest and Spokane Chapters of the CPCU Society, November 2015
• “Washington and Oregon Insurance Law” presented to Pacific Northwest Chapter of the CPCU Society, November 2014
• “The Mediation Rollercoaster-Mock Mediation of an Insurance Coverage Dispute” presented at the CPCU Annual Meeting, Anaheim, California, September 2014
• “Mock Trial: Wind, Water & Storms” presented at the CPCU Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 2013
• “What You Need to Know About Attorney-Client Privilege in Light of Cedell v. Farmers Ins. Co.” presented to Pacific Northwest Chapter CPCU Society, October 2013
• “Stipulated Judgments and Reasonableness Hearings” presented to Spokane Chapter of the CPCU Society, February 2012
• “Washington and Oregon Insurance Law Update” presented to Pacific Northwest Chapter of the CPCU Society, January 2012
• “Insurance Coverage Law 2011 Update” presented to Pacific Northwest Chapter CPCU of the Society, January 2011
• “The Nuts and Bolts of Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Exclusions to Liability Coverage” Washington State Bar Association CLE Webinar, December 2009
• “Depreciation & Recent Case Law Relative to Actual Cash Value” presented to Seattle Claims Adjuster Association, May 2008